Gratitude & Trust: Paul Williams and Tracey Jackson

In this week's episode of Your Best Life, Karl interviews co-authors of Gratitude and Trust, Tracey Jackson and Paul Williams. In this podcast, Paul shares the knowledge he gained in his twenty-four years working in the recovery movement, where he healed himself and also helped others. Tracey discusses her lifelong quest for peace and how to get through life's ups and downs.

Main Questions Asked:

• How did your book come to be, and how did you start working together?
• Tracey, you saw a gem and thought 'the world needs to know this,' what was the next step?
• Paul, talk about how you made the transition from being addicted to making a change.
• Tracey, did you have any interaction with Paul in the interim, or did you just get the end points?
• Paul, is there anything in your childhood you think contributed to your situation? Where does the programing start?
• Tracey, what do you do with your family in order to reinforce the gift of gratitude?

Key Lessons Learned:

• If you feel 'something needs to change and it's probably me,' then the word 'probably' is a great word to approach until you develop willingness.
• It is difficult to take the first step and acknowledge that you have to look at yourself through a different lens and get to a place of loving yourself and others.
• Society imposes the need for people the feel 'everything is okay,' which means many of us put up a front. In the recovery movement people embrace their faults.
• Not everyone is as 'fine' as they say they are. In fact, many of us are not 'fine' at different moments in our life.
• Once you say your problem or issue out loud, you are obligated to do something about it. We often maintain the 'I'm fine' shield, which eventually wears us down.
• In today's society we are taught to 'fake it till we make it' and our reputations are deemed more important than our character.
• Our mistakes are an amazing schoolroom, and as Oprah says, “There is wisdom in the wound."
• Being vulnerable is the hardest thing to do, especially in a competitive environment.
• The most empowering four words you will ever say (and will take you furthest in life) are “Can you help me?"
• Most people get greater satisfaction from giving, which is in one of the six affirmations in the book: “I will live, and love, and service."
• When you are able to own your mistakes it opens the door for someone else to own theirs. This is where community, connection, trust, and identification is. These are huge things missing in our culture, and when people open up, they don't feel alone and the shame disintegrates.
• When people start to complain about 'what is not,' it is important to remind them about 'what is.'
• Gratitude is a personal thing, but there is an element where one person changes their behavior, then others change their behavior too.
• We can't change anyone else, but you can change yourself and by doing that you change the dynamic with the other person.
• When you change yourself, step back and watch the world around you change. You are looking at the world through different eyes and are reacting in a different way.
• You can't remove a thought or delete a habit, but you can replace a thought or habit with a better one.
• The essence of recovery is that when you remove the drugs and alcohol, you have to replace it with a different lifestyle or some other addiction will slide right in. You don't remove a habit but you replace it.

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Links to Resources Mentioned

Gratitude & Trust

2 click to tweet links (Thanks for helping spread the word!)

What are the most empowering 4 words you will ever say? Find out w/ @gratitudetrust @wellnessgroup http://wellness.com/gratitudeandtrust

Do you feel you need to change? Learn about recovery w/ @gratitudetrust & @wellnessgroup http://wellness.com/gratitudeandtrust